Page 5 of Travel Guy Travel Blog Posts


South America » Peru » Piura » Máncora July 19th 2009

Co-written by Gali & Seth: It is best to describe Mancora in one word paradise. Blue skies, sandy beaches, warm breeze, the breathtaking pacific sunset as well as the freshly caught daily tuna made this destination a perfect place for Gali and I to end our South American adventure. Our accommodation was magnificent!!!! Casa Del Playa (in English this means castle by the beach - you can say that again). The staff were attentive, accommodating and pleasant. The rooms can be described as clean & basic, no tv's, phone, or anything electronic for that matter making it more of a getaway... not to mention great showers and a balcony outfitted with a hammock and an AMAZING view of the ocean!!!!!!! We would recommend this place to everyone!!!!! We spent our days relaxing on the beach whether ... read more
Tuk Tuk Taxis
Beach-Side Massage
Beach-Side Massage

South America » Peru » Ica » Huacachina July 9th 2009

I thought Oasisses only existed in movies and Arabian desserts. In other words, I never thought I would actually find myself at one. Happily, I was wrong! There is not much more to say about Huacachina since there really isn't much to do at an oasis....except of course, play in all the sand! Which is exactly what we did by going on a sand dune excursion. The excursion had two parts, the dune buggy and the sand-boarding. Both were SO much fun. The dune buggy was similar to being on a roller coaster except there were no tracks! Our driver was only a little crazy so we all survived! The boarding was tons of fun too, especially when I got in two nice carves. On our way out of Huacachina we did a wine and pisco ... read more
Sand Dunes
Sand Dunes
A Sand Dune Peak

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco » Cusco July 6th 2009

Co-authored by Seth and Gali: Seth: The plan was simple: Day 1: Leave Cusco and Mountain bike (downhill) for 4 hours. Day 2: Hike in the morning through the jungle along the Inca Trail, then white water raft on class 2 and 3 rapids followed by lunch. After lunch, class 4+ rapids. Day 3: Hike Day 4: Hike up to Machu Pichu and spend the day there. Reality for Seth and Gali: Day 0: At the hostel, they provide heavy wooden chests for us to keep our belongings in. They have metals clasps on them so they can be locked. Gali's came crashing down on her head, specifically the metal clasp attached to the heavy wooden door. We didn't think much of it at the time. That night, she didn't sleep much and we didn't know ... read more
Valley
Decending
Decending

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco » Cusco July 2nd 2009

Not wanting to be stuck in the ongoing bus strike, we booked a flight from Arequipa to Cusco. One way was $160 US and roundtrip was $170 US so we decided to spend the extra 10$ and avoid the over-night bus back to Arequipa. We arrived in Cusco, safely, sore from the canyon trek and hungry. We grabbed a taxi and headed for the Loki Hostel. They had made a mistake with our reservation so we ended up in a four bed dorm with a private bathroom as opposed to an 8-10 bed dorm with a shared bathroom. Not the worst thing to happen. Since we arrived at 8am and could only get into our room after 1pm, we went to walk around. (even though we were really really sore from the hike). The city is ... read more
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas

South America » Peru » Arequipa » Colca Canyon June 27th 2009

First off, it is essential to say: We survived!!! Our excursion to the Colca Canyon started very early in the morning with a 3am pick up. We drove until 6am when we took a break and then continued on until we reached the Canyon of the Condors (Huge birds!). We saw some of the amazing creatures and then got back in the van. When we arrived at the Colca Canyon we started walking. None of us had any idea what we were in for. The hike started and we were all amazed by the scenery! We had no idea of the physical and mental challenges ahead of us on the way down. The first leg of the trek was down since we were climbing down a canyon. It was steep and tricky so we took it ... read more
Triumphant!
Colca Canyon
Colca Canyon

South America » Peru » Arequipa » Arequipa June 25th 2009

Upon our arrival to Arequipa I was feeling a little under the weather. Luckily, I'm traveling with two wonderful amigas who took good care of me, making me a yummy dinner!!! After, I went to bed and the girls headed out for some proper food. The next morning I was feeling better so we all went out exploring. Arequipa seems quite European, with beautiful architecture, a grand plaza, nice restos, and a main shopping street. It is a welcomed change from Bolivia. The buildings are built from sillar which is white volcanic stone. Before lunch we went to the Colonial House Museum. It was interesting to learn a little about the history of the area. In my opinion the most interesting was one of the ways the Inca slaves revolted against the Spaniards. The Spaniards enslaved ... read more
Main Plaza
Streets of Arequipa
Main Plaza

South America » Peru » Puno » Puno June 23rd 2009

Welcome to PERU!! Or so we thought!!! (We were all happy to leave Bolivia and begin to scope out a new country.) Originally, our first stop in Peru was supposed to be Puno, located on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. It is famous for the floating islands and not much else besides its cesspool smelling waterfront. On our way there, rumors spread through the tourist bus that Peru's transportation sector was going on a 3-day strike starting the next day. We had a group huddle and decided to skip Puno and go straight to Arequipa avoiding the risk of getting stuck in stinky cold Puno for 3 days. In other words, a 3 hour bus ride turned into a 10 hour one. Crossing the border was somewhat of a challenge for me as I was ... read more
Welcome to Peru
Bolivian Exit Office
Archway Welcoming Us to Peru


Following our jungle and pampas adventures we flew back to La Paz -slept there over night and caught a 3 hour bus in the morning to Copacabana which is part of the infamous Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. So... besides having a great name, there is also something cool about it. We arrived to Copacabana which is on the southern section of the lake. To get there, we bused from La Paz ($45 Bolivianos). Towards the end of our journey, we had to get off the bus and onto a small boat to drive us across a small section of water. The bus made its way across via a barge. Why the Bolivian government didn't pave the road the entire way around (probably a 15 minute drive ... read more
Views while walking along Isla del Sol
Boat Across
Boat Across

South America » Bolivia » Beni Department » Madidi June 19th 2009

Written by Gali: Onto the jungle portion of our journey... This was the second excursion we took from Rurrenabaque. Madidi national park is a MASSIVE reserve, occupying 1,900,000 Hectares of land, which range from the snow capped mountains surrounding La Paz to the humid jungles way up in Northern Bolivia. As well, there are approximately 4,738 species of plants, 156 types of animals, and 867 bird species. The jungle is much more of what Dani, Seth and I expected from the Amazon in terms of plants and trees. It was stunning!!! We had yet another wicked tour guide, Eric, who happened to be Brad Pitt’s guide some years ago, it was surprising to learn that Brad Pitt had been to Bolivia. The tour set out from Rurrenabaque where we boated on both the Beni & another ... read more
Boat
Boat
Boat and River

South America » Bolivia » Beni Department » Madidi June 17th 2009

Written by Gali: After hearing amazing recounts from fellow travelers we were all super excited for the Bolivian portion of the Amazon. As the first part of our excursion from Rurrenabaque we headed to Las pampas for 3 days & 2 nights. The word literally translates to swamps or a more appropriate term would be wetlands. Our tour guide, Ronny, was great, he was able to spot the wildlife from miles away, for this reason we nicknamed him Eagle-Eye-Ronny. Our accommodation was laid out in a serene setting...little wooden huts in the middle of nowhere accompanied with the bare minimums...a toilet, cold shower (which was welcomed after the heat of the Amazon), the showers also included HUUUUGE beetles (this all added to the experience), mosquito net covered beds and hammocks to chill out on. We spent ... read more
Monkey
Anaconda!
River




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